Adidas Seizes Opportunity as Nike Stumbles, JD Sports and Puma Shares Fall

Shares of JD (NASDAQ: JD) Sports and Puma (FRA: PUM) experienced a notable dip on Friday, falling by up to 6.6% and 3%, respectively. Meanwhile, Adidas (OTC: ADDYY) saw a brief uptick of more than 1.5%, following an unexpected downward projection in fiscal 2025 revenue from U.S. giant Nike (NYSE: NKE).

Analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux commented that Nike will focus on adjusting its business strategies until at least spring 2025. This transition period offers Adidas a strategic window to potentially increase its market share. Nike's decline stems from a noticeable drop in demand for its sneakers, as customers turn towards newer brands like On and Hoka. This shift resulted in a more than 12% decline in Nike’s shares in after-hours trading.

On a more optimistic note for investors, analysts at Jefferies shared that recent discussions with Adidas management underscored the company’s positive outlook. The demand for Adidas's 'terrace' sneakers continues to be robust, coupled with upcoming sports events in the summer that are expected to fuel sales growth as early as the second quarter.

As of 0744 GMT, JD Sports’ shares had fallen 3.4%, making it the weakest performer on the pan-European STOXX 600 index. Despite its initial gains, Adidas could not maintain its upward momentum and ended up down 0.2%.